A Massachusetts man is alive thanks to the quick response from two police officers.
At around 5:50 a.m. Friday, Rockland Police responded to a call for a man suffering severe injuries at the National Coating Corp. The company provides commercial and industrial solvent and water capable coating and saturation services.
At the scene, responding officers found a 66-year-old Pembroke man sitting in a chair surrounded by a pool of his own blood. His left arm had been severed at the elbow.
A co-worker applied a makeshift tourniquet by using a T-shirt, but the man was still losing a large amount of blood.
Officers used a tourniquet kit to apply a pressure to the wound and stop the bleeding.
The man was then transported by ambulance to a hospital in Weymouth, where he was in stable condition. He was later taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and is expected to survive.
Preliminary investigation shows the man was working on a machine when suddenly his arm got caught in the gears, effectively severing part of his arm.
"I want to commend both our officers who responded and immediately took action that likely saved this man’s life," Rockland Police Chief John Llewellyn said. "Our officers never know what they are going into when they respond to an incident. Which is why it is crucial to keep the medical supplies and tourniquet kits in our cruisers and properly train our officers how to apply medical aid when necessary."
"Every second counts with an injury like that and thankfully it looks like this man is going to survive, thanks in part to the two officers and our EMTs who responded to the scene. Great job by everyone involved," Rockland Fire Chief Scott Duffey said.
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